1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improvement in a farm implement for planting a plurality of parallel rows of seeds which are stored in a single seed box. More particularly, use of the attachment of the present invention with a conventional planter permits the user to skip certain rows in order to provide a desired spacing pattern of planted seeds. The invention is particularly useful in combination with a multiple row seed planter having a single seed hopper and an air pressurized rotating seed drum for dispensing seed into outlets connected by flexible tubing for transfer to the desired row in the ground. Interposition of the attachment of the present invention in such tubing permits skipping of rows to produce the desired spacing of seeds planted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,575 to Graham, issued Apr. 18, 1967, shows a seed dispensing apparatus with a diverter slidably mounted on a hopper for metering seed from the hopper and distribution in a predetermined pattern. The Graham patent, focusing on metering of seed, fails to allow a user to select a skip-row planting pattern to achieve a desired seed spacing distribution.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,522, issued Jan. 11, 1972, to Main, shows a sod seeder to selectively seed parallel rows so that the seed will be distributed evenly and at a constant rate. It is to avoid the even and constant rate of seed deposition that the attachment of the present invention was designed, and instead, the user can skip seed rows as desired to produce an optimum seed spacing pattern.
Other patents showing seed metering devices and illustrating generally the prior art are as follows:
U.S. Pat. Nos:
2,732,975--Jan. 31, 1956
3,411,467--Nov. 19, 1968
3,453,977--July 8, 1969
3,489,321--Jan. 13, 1970
3,633,489--Jan. 11, 1972.